How a sous chef gives back with second job at recovery center

Jose Figueroa lost his father when he was five, and it stirred an anger inside him. He’d “look at kids spending time with their fathers, and it would just make me angry.”

He enjoyed working at his uncles’ restaurants, but the anger took control of his life; he got deeply involved in gangs, dropped out of school and began using meth. He bottomed out when he faced federal charges, with 30 years in prison on the table. 

So how, all these years later, did he become the executive sous chef at one of the hottest restaurants in San Francisco? Watch his testimony to find out how he turned his life around.

Below is a transcript of the video edited for readability.

Jose Figueroa: Everything I’ve been through…it’s in Fresno. Fresno is a hard place to grow up.

There’s a lot of areas that are full of poverty. There’s a lot of gangs in Fresno.

I lost my father at a very young age. He had heart problems, he had a procedure done, and he left the hospital against doctor’s orders, came home. That night, he passed away. I was five years old.

Three of my uncles owned restaurants while I was growing up. I worked there since I was 12 years old. And for a lot of us cousins, that’s what we were going to do. But not having a father really affected me.

I was a very angry boy. Very angry teen. I would look at kids spending time with their fathers, and it would just make me angry. And I would want to take it out on something. I was always in fights in school. 

I ended up not finishing high school. I belonged to probably the biggest gang in Fresno.

And, I had my first daughter when I was 21. Me and the mom, we were going through a lot. I wasn’t mentally mature, so I was really, really quick to leave home. And once I was out on the streets, like I wouldn’t come back till I would get locked up.

And I would come home, have a baby. Then start all over again and go to jail again, come home, have a baby. But, when I started having problems being a father to my kids, it just brought back all the issues that I had as a kid.

My father passed away so he didn’t have a chance to be there now, I was still alive and I still wasn’t able to be the father that I should be.

I started being able to deal with it with drugs. Once I started using meth, my life spiraled out of control.

My last case was a federal case. The time I was facing was over 30 years. But my case started playing out and my lawyer started telling me that we should fight it.

But, I knew in my mind that I had done the crime. So I told my lawyer, “You know, I’ve been to jail so many times, it doesn’t do nothing for me. I want to ask if I maybe can get a program.”

The judge, he said, “You know what?” He’s going to give me a chance. He’s going to send me to one of the hardest programs in the state. And if I don’t complete it, then I’m going to get the ten years that I had over my head.

So…by the grace of God, I got sent to The Salvation Army. The program is difficult. You know, there’s a lot of rules.

Everybody has to have the same haircut. You have to wear collared shirts. You have to be tucked in. And I always try to question, “Why this? Why that?” But you know what? I realized that I was there for something bigger. I knew God had laid out everything for me.

Growing up, I really had a lot of, I could say, hate towards God. But I started seeing what God was doing in my life, and I put Him in front of everything.

For so long, I never accepted anything I did. I blamed all my mistakes on everything that was in my past. Once I accepted it, it took so much weight off of me. I was ready to change my life.

While I was at the ARC program, I was working in the kitchen. The kitchen director, he started mentioning that there was a new culinary academy in San Francisco. And it was free. And it was a good opportunity for anybody who enjoyed cooking.

And I thought in my head, “You know what? I’m going to give this a shot.” And I did, you know, it was the best decision of my life.

I moved to San Francisco. I started that culinary school with an open mind. Being back in the kitchen it brought back the good memories of my childhood. You know, the time I spent with my uncles, the time I spent working with my cousins at the restaurant.

I not only learned new things about the culinary arts, I learned really how to start working with different types of people. And it really helped me out stepping into the work industry.

During that time, I lived at a sober living environment. The Joseph Mcfee Center was amazing to me. It is incredible to think that there are programs like this that give you somewhere to stay, let you work, that will save your money for you and give it back to you when you leave.

I started seeing what God was doing in my life. I just told God, you know, “Wherever you want to take me, whatever you need me to do, I’m going to do.”

Right now, I’m living in my second apartment here in San Francisco. I’m very happy where I live. And, I got the opportunity to be a sous chef now.

I’m so grateful that I get a chance to work at this amazing place called Cavaña. Cavaña is a beautiful, fancy place.

They have given me an opportunity to grow, to be creative. They have given me a chance for my word to mean something.

I also work at the Harbor Light Salvation Army rehab. I take that as that’s my recovery. I know what a good meal did for me when I was in the program, you know, coming out of jail.

Recovery is hard enough as it is that the food shouldn’t be an issue, you know, so I really put my all into cooking for people.

At Harbor Light, my hours are from 6 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. And I’m at Cavaña from 2:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. midnight when we close. I have two days off from both jobs.

So I try to go back to Fresno to visit my mom, try to see my kids at least once a month. I have five kids. The time I spend with my kids is so special. To even have the love of my kids when for so long I felt like I didn’t even deserve it. You know, it’s, it’s such an amazing feeling.

My life is good you know and, I have God to thank for that. You know, I, I really do. I owe everything that I’m doing, all my success to Him.

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